1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light source apparatus preferable for an endoscope.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, endoscopes have been widely used, and such endoscopes are configured to observe a region to be examined and conduct various treatments by inserting an elongated endoscope into a body cavity or the like. In such endoscopes, light source apparatuses are used to perform photographing inside the body cavity. In recent years, light source apparatuses also have been used, which adopt a semiconductor light source such as an LED as a light-emitting portion.
As an example of such a light source apparatus, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 11-313797, for example, discloses a light source apparatus including a plurality of light-emitting elements. The light source apparatus includes a light detection section that detects a light quantity of illumination light from an illumination section configured by the plurality of light-emitting elements, and compares the light quantity detected by the light detection section with a predetermined light quantity, and when the light quantity detected by the light detection section is smaller than the predetermined light quantity, displays light-emitting element replacement. The conventional light source apparatus is thus capable of detecting the lifetime of the light-emitting elements from the detection result of the light detection section.
In addition, in recent years, a light source apparatus which is provided with a plurality of light detection sections for detecting the respective light quantities of the plurality of light-emitting elements and which is configured to adjust color balance based on the light quantities detected by the plurality of light detection sections has been used.